Chapter 379
However, Xia'er had already planned to visit Windsor the next day. If she couldn't extract any information, she might even resort to executing Windsor... and taking a look at her brain wouldn't be a difficult task for Xia'er.
To be on the safe side, she decided to go to Windsor Palace tomorrow and think of a way to obtain some information from Windsor.
In the meantime, Xia'er returned to the hotel, but before she left, she assigned Tara a small task.
That was to send an anonymous tip to the police investigation team, directly reporting one of the members of the Chaos Squad in the West District.
She wanted to see how the Russell family and the royal family would react, and to test whether the person reported in this simulation would also be captured in reality.
At the same time, Xia'er was curious to know if the arrest of the Chaos Squad would affect Tara, her contact.
After all, Tara and Xia'er were closely connected; if Tara got involved, Xia'er would definitely be exposed.
— This was also a small test, aimed at ensuring stability.
Around four in the morning, Tara sent Xia'er a message: the member of the Joyous Society, "Blood Painter" Pikeman, had been arrested.
He was one of the easiest members of the Chaos Squad to catch, and by choosing him as a target, Xia'er was worried that the strongman might not have the right person or that the target might escape.
If all went well, before Xia'er met Windsor, the strongman's team should be able to extract information about other members of the Chaos Squad from Pikeman. It all depended on whether they could trace it back to Tara.
At noon, Xia'er had lunch with Aivina at the hotel, and by three-thirty in the afternoon, she and Tara headed straight to Windsor Palace.
However, before leaving the hotel, Aivina forcefully handed Xia'er the "Substitute Saint Relic" pendant. Aivina was unaware of Windsor's current disposition, but her intuition told her she had to give this to Xia'er.
When Xia'er, dressed in the Dedton Group uniform, arrived at Windsor Palace, it was nearly three-fifty in the afternoon. She was slightly early, but arriving ahead of time was common and had no impact.
The guards at the palace entrance seemed to have been informed in advance about Xia'er's visit. Upon seeing a Dedton Group member accompanied by a maid, they did not stop her. After confirming Xia'er's identity, they allowed the maid to escort her into the palace.
"Miss Xia'er, please wait a moment. I will inform Her Highness the Princess," the maid said as she led Xia'er to the reception room. After pouring her a cup of black tea, she left to notify the princess.
After a few minutes of waiting, the sound of footsteps approached, and Windsor appeared at the door of the reception room.
Xia'er stood up, slightly bowed her head, and said, "Princess Windsor."
"No need to be so formal, Miss Xia'er... Can I just call you Xia'er? You can call me Windsor," Windsor replied with a smile, dressed in a delicate light yellow gown. "Please, have a seat."
At that moment, Windsor, wearing light yellow silk gloves, took a sip of the black tea in front of her and began chatting with Xia'er.
Windsor asked about Xia'er's work, showing a keen interest in the daily life of Dedton Group employees.
Fortunately, Xia'er was somewhat familiar with the Dedton Manor in Berun City and shared some amusing stories about the casino or unique betting games, successfully deflecting Windsor's inquiries.
Meanwhile, Xia'er was plotting how to lead Windsor to a quiet, secluded place.
It seemed Windsor had the same idea.
"Why not give it a try, Xia'er?" Windsor casually suggested with a smile. "You can taste this; it's a special royal blend of black tea that I quite like."
There was probably something in the tea...
But given Windsor's demeanor, refusing to drink it would be a complete affront, and she might realize that Xia'er had caught on to something.
Xia'er needed to steer the conversation in another direction.
"Princess Windsor, actually, I came to see you today because there's something I want to know," Xia'er said, her expression resolute.
Windsor's eyes showed a hint of confusion as she looked at Xia'er, whose cheeks seemed to have flushed slightly. "What is it? Just ask, Xia'er."
"I want to know where your sister, Princess Vitalis, is now. I once met her and have been trying to find her again, but I have no leads..." Xia'er inquired, her tone carrying a hint of pleading.
Sure enough, upon hearing her sister's name, Windsor's breath caught, and her fists tightened slightly.
Vitalis! It's her again!
"Vitalis is often away on visits and rarely returns," Windsor replied, her smile stiffening. She narrowed her eyes at Xia'er and said, "By the way, Xia'er, the 'Newborn' from the Royal Medical Society is waiting. Would you like to meet them?"
"There's something I don't quite understand, Princess Windsor," Xia'er asked. "The only 'Newborn' I've encountered was from the Redemption Society's transformation school, and I witnessed him treating another injured extraordinary."
"Do 'Newborns'... still have the ability to heal the mind? Please forgive me; my understanding of the extraordinary is not as extensive as yours, Your Highness."
This was a point of great confusion for Xia'er.
Since last night, Windsor had been talking about the 'Newborn' healing the mind, but based on Ashford's treatment of Lucy, it seemed that the 'Newborn's' healing could worsen mental pollution, even causing rejection reactions and altering appearances.
But Windsor didn't seem to think so; she even wanted Aivina, the "psychologist," to communicate with the "Newborn," as if they were on completely different paths.
Upon hearing Xia'er's question, Windsor merely smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, Xia'er. That 'Newborn' is like a mentor to me; she will help you."
It seemed Windsor didn't want to reveal too much, but she intended to take Xia'er to see this secret.
There were only two possibilities.
One, Windsor wanted to gain Xia'er's trust, even at the cost of revealing some secrets to heal Xia'er's mind.
Two, Windsor had no intention of letting Xia'er leave here... or rather, leave completely.
Clearly, the latter aligned more with Xia'er's understanding of Windsor.
This left Xia'er feeling somewhat puzzled.
She had witnessed the Chaos Squad storming Windsor Palace, but at that time, she hadn't seen any "Newborns."
Xia'er recalled the hint given by the Soul Incitement Box last night.
Windsor... the brain...
Could it be related to that "Newborn"?
This "Newborn" was a piece of information she had never encountered before.
Xia'er glanced at the remaining time in the simulation, just over an hour, and looked at Windsor before saying, "Then I shall comply."
Time was running short; once the countdown ended, Xia'er would be forcibly removed from this world... even if this save file was altered, it would still be preserved as long as she didn't log into it, having almost no impact on Xia'er.
"Please follow me," Windsor said, standing up and addressing Xia'er.
Xia'er rose and followed Windsor as they crossed the hall...
Arriving at the entrance of an underground passage.
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PS1: Yesterday, I removed the image of the "Subverter" because the artist wanted to make some modifications (changing the hand). Now that the revisions are complete, I will post the updated version later.
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PS2:
Taking a little break today; my SAN value has been a bit depleted from the recent updates.
Tomorrow, I promise to maintain over 8K, guaranteed by Kundanji.
Hang in there! Tomorrow's me!
Good night!
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PS3:
A recommendation for an orange-themed novel, "Strange Disqualification."
[Reward Suspension] Can't take it anymore! It's closed!
Starting from 83,500, now at 109,544, 26,000 divided by 500, a total of 52 chapters.
176 + 52 = 228, which brings me back to the starting point.
The ongoing reward has been a significant psychological burden; I really can't hold on any longer. I will do my best to add more updates.
Let's go! Future me! Believe in your abilities!
Chapter 206: The Glorious and Great Order Research (8,100 words)
The basement?
Xia'er was very familiar with this place.
There were only two spaces below: one was a secret room used by the strongman to store codebooks, and the other, much larger space, was Windsor's collection room—filled with various human skulls and anatomical specimens.
She brought me directly here?
Is she relying on that "Newborn," thinking I can't resist?
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